SAVE $6.49 - King Kong vs. Godzilla $8.49
Price: $14.98 Now: $8.49 You save: $6.49
The two mightiest monsters of all time battle in the thrilling adventure classic, King Kong vs. Godzilla. When an underhanded pharmaceutical company goes to a remote tropical island to steal King Kong for advertising purposes, they get more than they bargained for when the gigantic ape attacks an unsuspecting village and an enormous octopus. Meanwhile, far below the sea, a submarine crew unleashes reptilian terror when they melt a block of ice and release the ferocious Godzilla from his icy lair. When both destructive monsters descend on Tokyo, it's a fight that holds the future of mankind in the balance in this knock-out film that was the first theatrical release to bring its larger-than-life contenders to the big screen in glorious color.
Shop Now »»
Permalink: dealnay.com/155841
Last updated: November 20, 2009, 6:15 am
King Kong vs. Godzilla Customer reviews:
Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 6
(! MR. KNOW IT ALL ;-b, 2009-10-29) Who can resist that title?! This is another very entertaining entry in the Godzilla series. This is the first Kong film produced by ToHo, but I think King Kong Escapes is a much funnier film. The Kong costumes are quite different in the two films with this Kong looking more evil and the other looking more cute. I'm sure the Rankin & bass influence in "Escapes" could be behind that. This film has plenty of action and some great and hilarious fight scenes. The special effect and miniatures are also some of the better in most cases, but there are some goofy looking effects here and there.(i.e. the plastic wrap on the octopus to make it look wet whenever Kong is holding it.) There are some inconsistencies in the folk lore of these two titans such as Godzilla and King Kong's size difference and Kong getting stronger with lightning, but who cares?.... this is a battle royal and it is a real hoot once we get to the big brawl! I give this film 5 stars for its fun factor and because it is full of hysterical action sequences. If you're a fan of Godzilla and these types of films this is a real treat! My review is for the older release that was available in a two pack with King Kong Escapes. I don't know if the newer edition has added anything to warrant buying it as I can not find any info about it. This is usually not a good sign and I suspect it to be the same DVD with a new cover. This older DVD has a very clean DVD transfer and it is in widescreen, but there are no extras at all, not even a trailer! Buy the two pack and enjoy these are both really funny films!
(Cleve, 2009-09-17) Save your money, Godzilla fans. This is a mediocre DVD effort by Universal. The print is a nice copy, and it looks good. That's the only positives I'll give it. I've been spoiled by the wonderful Toho Master Collection releases by Classic Media over the last few years. Those movies include both the original Japanese version and the American theatrical release, along with some interesting still galleries, trailers, and insightful commentaries. This DVD only includes the American version, which is hugely disappointing. Even worse, this is a no-frills DVD. No special features, no expert commentary, no nothing. The menu is "Watch Movie" "Languages" and "Scene Selections". Nothing else. I pre-ordered this one on the hopes that perhaps it was mis-labeled at Amazon. Sadly, it isn't. I would have gladly paid a few extra dollars for a decent DVD of this film which included all the aforementioned content. Only buy this one if you really, really want a nice looking DVD copy of the American version and nothing else.
(JACK LOBO, 2009-06-30) This is the one most of us grew up on and have a great affection for. Godzilla looks good. King Kong looks terrible. But they both kick ass. There seems to be a misconception that the Japanese version is more sophisticated than this version. Trust me it isn't. It's different, but not better. In fact sometimes it plays off more comical than this version. The Japanese ending is not any different, other than Godzilla gets the closing roar. The ending is a matter of perspective. Kong swam away in victory because he's the hero and had Godzilla on the ropes before they fell into the water. Kong swam away in retreat because he couldn't stay underwater indefinitely like Godzilla can. What many people don't know is there is a third version. The Japanese print with english dubbing done by a different studio. That one is really hard to find.
(Sheree D. Waites, 2009-06-07) I LOVE GODZILLIA!!!! KING KONG IS GOOD BUT GODZILLIA IS THE BEST AND WHEN THEY PLACED THESE 2 TO BOX AND GO AT IT..MAN!!!!! KING KONG HAD A VERSION THAT WAS ON TV, I CANT FIND! IT WOULD VIEW ON THE 3:00 EVENING THEATER ON TV A LONG TIME AGO,ALL I CAN REMEMBER IS SOME GIRL YELLING TO HIM.."KONG!!!..STOP THE SHIP!!..STOP THE SHIP KONG,AND KONG DID,HE RAN THROUGH THE WATER. IN THIS FLICK,THEY GAVE KONG WINE!! THEY SONG A SONG ABOUT HIM AS THYEY SANG. SO THEY COULD TIE HIM DOWN AFTER GETTING HIM DRUNK!..DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THIS OR KNOW WHERE I CAN GET THIS PARTICULAR VERSION?.. AS FOR THIS ONE IT IS A BIG CLASSIC!
(fmwaalex, 2009-01-08) GODZILLA VS KING KONG The year was uh well em well I don't remember but when I was a little kid I remember turning on the TV one afternoon and to my surprise my favorite monster of all time Godzilla was about to come. He was going to do battle with everyone's favorite oversized ape King Kong and I could not have been happier, after all Godzilla was my all time favorite. Naturally Kong had no chance in my mind but I imagined that the battle would be legendary, as a kid I was not disappointed with the film until the ending. Of course I would learn later that a different version of the film, the original version of the film was out there. Of course either way I loved and still do love this film, in my eyes it will forever be a classic regardless of shortcomings on the filmmakers part. To this day when I watch this movie, either version, I still watch it like I was that little kid with awe in my eyes. I do own both versions this the American version on DVD and the original Japanese version on VHS, when I go through all my old VHS tapes I will probably review the original but for now this review will mainly be about this release. This was the third appearance in a film I believe for both monsters and it was the first time they were seen in color and in widescreen. The film went through a lot of changes before the final product and even cut out the original guy that wanted to make this movie. From what I can gather a guy named Willis O'Brien who did animation on the original Kong film came up with an idea to do a new King Kong feature. His idea would involve a giant Frankenstein's monster going up against Kong, that got no were due to rights for the creature although it went threw name changes with the same concept. Around this time Willis comes into contact with a producer named John Beck who went on to produce the final product. After putting the script out there to studios around the world eventually a production company in Japan called Toho agreed to do the film. Except they wanted to do a Kong film that would pit their monster Godzilla against the famous ape, it was here that Willis was cut out due to Beck doing this behind his back while George Worthing Yates came in as a writer at this point. Once the cast, crew, and locations were ready [for both versions] they went to work. The movie is really up until one point two completely different stories going on at the same time that come together pretty easily and for this type of film believably. The first is the Kong story that is told by the Japanese as a Mr. Tako played by Ichirô Arishima is upset with how everything is turning out with his TV show, so after hearing about Kong from a doctor he decided that the best thing to do is capture the beast and use him for publicity. So off are two of his employees named Sakurai and Kinsaburo to an island where the ape is supposed to be and they are greeted not so friendly like by the natives. The natives of the island it turns out worships Kong and are not happy with these people being here, until they bust out the radio and cigarettes to show the natives. At around the same time all of this is happening a U.S submarine is out in icy waters and comes across something it did not want to, a giant reptile named Godzilla. Of course Godzilla is off to Tokyo and in between Godzilla traveling and stomping right threw the Japanese military, we are back on the island were not only does King Kong appear but he actually gets into it with a giant octopus. After that little ordeal is complete he drinks some stuff and passes out to the soothing music of the natives, and so he is off captured by his publicity hungry captures. It is some were around here that the two stories started to come together as a plan was hatched to let the monsters go at it by the U.N., things don't work out so well. As Godzilla destroys everything in his path terrorizing the local folk at every turn as were Kong is just making his way towards Godzilla. When these two giants first came together to clash I remember sitting there thinking "aww man this is going to be legendary", I was not disappointed as Godzilla gave it to Kong and literally had the King running away. It was right then and there I knew this film was a classic. Of course from that point it is all about Godzilla on the loose and Kong on the run [away from Godzilla], so the humans of the U.N. devise a plan that would put Kong back in the ring with Godzilla [how they got him there I will speak on later]. So the final battle is on and once again Godzilla is whopping up on "King" Kong {let it be known that if this was a different film I would be for Kong, but I will go against any one going up against Godzilla} with Kong getting in a shot or two once in a while but nothing that really hurts his opponent. At some point Kong tries some rolling maneuver to get past Godzilla and he knocks him self out after hitting his head on a bolder. Then a miracle happens, an electrical storm happens just long enough to shock Kong and give him the strength to continue, earlier the humans made it public knowledge that electricity was bad for Godzilla but good for Kong [yeah]. It helps for a moment and Kong actually gets in a few seconds of some nice ground and pound Ortiz style, but other then that he still takes more then he gives. Then they hit the water with Godzilla on top, and after a little bit Kong is seen in the distance leaving [in my opinion running again like earlier]. It is here that most of the controversy is talked about, but I assure you there are more differences and some odd things. Before we get to that I must say that the writing by Bruce Howard and Paul Mason did a decent job with their English rewrite, and the new American director Thomas Montgomery seems to have changed things around a little for the additional scenes added to the American release. Over all for what it is they did good jobs but the original Japanese film is better in my opinion, director Ishirô Honda did a good job taking the series in a new direction as did writer Shinichi Sekizawa and producer Tomoyuki Tanaka. But this is the American version and for what it is it is good, loved it growing up as an adult I can now see the flaws but still. All of the actors did decent to good jobs in their respective roles for the most part but you can't always expect Oscar worthy performances all the time. They wanted to change a lot of the comedic aspects of the movie; I say they didn't do a good job because it is still funny in other ways. I have to say that the actors that played Sakurai and Kinsaburo were brilliant and make a wonderful comedic on screen team, there scenes on the island were Kong is worshipped are priceless. Now on to the odd things I talked about earlier, Godzilla got changed around a little for this film since they wanted him to not look so scary. They chopped off his ears and gave him one less toe, also his fins, body, and head were modified to make him look more like a reptile. Another weird thing is that even though these two were never apparently heard of by these people as soon as they see them they know the creatures by name. Also when was it decided that King Kong could draw power from electricity; I guess that it was a convenience so they could come up with a way for him to even stand a chance. But put that all aside and think about this, how are these two even in the same league. Godzilla is way too big and powerful and awesome to even consider Kong a threat, really think about it. In the Kong films Kong was way bigger then the people of course but he was no were near taller then the buildings, in fact if memory serves me right he had to climb them to get to the top and is taken out by airplanes. Godzilla on the other hand was always taller then the buildings in his films and just knocked them all down, plus he ate plans for breakfast. With that said that brings us to the legendary duel endings, an American and Japanese take each. Depending on who you believe this is either true or false, pick one and go with it one or the other. In the original Japanese version after Kong is seen running away in the back ground we hear Godzilla roar as does Kong when "the end" appears. In the American version Kong is the only one heard roaring, what else could that mean. Some people say that this is just a myth and that in the Japanese version was just the two monsters doing a curtain call like final bow, but what does that mean for the American version only Kong is taking a final bow. I like to think that the myth is true and that John Beck wanted Kong to win, and that in the Japanese version Godzilla was the winner. Sure it is very possible that the Japanese filmmakers meant it as a final bow, but that means that Beck wanted American audiences to view Kong as the victor in his version any way. Still it makes more sense in the Japanese version hat Godzilla won, another thing you should think about. 1. Godzilla beats on Kong way more then Kong dishes out 2. Kong is energized by electricity and they fall in the ocean a little later, water and electricity don't mix well 3. When they fall into the ocean it is clearly seen that Godzilla is on top while Kong is on the bottom taking most of the fall. 3. Earlier when Kong realized that he could not defeat Godzilla he turns and runs, now if Godzilla was on top going into the water and was winning the majority of the fight it is more then logical to think Kong is seen fleeing the scene. Add in the end were we hear Godzilla roar and then Kong respond, they did the same thing in the first fight when Kong ran. Now with all that out of the way I can still say that American version or not Godzilla is off the chains and I love this film to the this day, I know Godzilla won so I still watch it like I was a kid.